Introduction

Many popular crypto exchanges which facilitate the cryptocurrency market are centralized in nature. One of the core ideals of blockchain is to enable users to trade without needing middlemen. However, centralized exchanges keep personal details and crypto assets of users, effectively morphing into a kind of government/bank that blockchain/crypto wanted to do away with right from the beginning.

As decentralized finance (DeFi) grew in popularity in 2019, decentralized exchanges, DEX for short, began to spring up to serve the DeFi community. Some of them exist as sole DEX, while a new trend is aggregated DEXes, where a DEX platform integrates access to other DEXes into its native platform. One of such DEX aggregators is the 1Inch Network.

What is 1Inch Network?

1Inch is a DEX aggregator that integrates many other popular DEXes into itself. It was founded in 2019 by two astute developers, Sergej Kunz and Anton Bukov. It aims to provide the lowest swap rates for DeFi users by channeling their transactions through the most efficient paths using liquidity from multiple DEX providers.

1Inch started as a DEX aggregator for Ethereum-based assets but is now multi-chain. 1Inch currently supports Ethereum, BNB Chain, Polygon, Optimism, Arbitrum, Gnosis, and Avalanche networks. 1Inch has 82 liquidity sources for Ethereum swaps, 48 for BNB Chain, 32 for Polygon, 6 for Optimism, 13 for Arbitrum, 9 for Gnosis, and 18 for Avalanche. With such a large pool of liquidity sources, 1Inch users are guaranteed the best swap rates at all times.

Standout Features of 1Inch DEX Aggregator

• No transaction fees

1Inch has a mission of giving users the best possible swap rates. Therefore it does not charge any transaction fees. Users only pay the gas fee applicable to the DEX through which their order is filled. There are also no deposit or withdrawal fees.

• Fully decentralized

1Inch does not require users to provide any personally identifiable information.

• OTC Trade

Over-the-counter (OTC) trade is a peer-to-peer (p2p) trade that takes place off-chain. Rather than using the usual automated market maker system, OTC uses Private Market Makers to match buyers with sellers. With OTC, the swap price is fixed and does not change during the transaction. For OTC swaps, what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG). Thus, traders get the exact amount of tokens they expect when they swap. This makes transactions slippage-free and eliminates the frontrunning issue often encountered by users on other platforms.

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• User-side security

1Inch is a non-custodial DEX. A user's assets are not domiciled on the platform but in a user's wallet, and the user has complete control over them. 

• Failed Transactions Do Not Exist

Users who transact on non-aggregator DEXes often experience failed transactions and high slippage costs because of low liquidity for some trade pairs. Such is not the case with 1Inch. The aggregation of other DEXes on 1Inch ensures that users access high liquidity in a single transaction, even for large volume transactions. 

• Sleek UI

The platform has an excellent interface that is easy even for a newbie. 

• Low-Risk Smart-contracts

1Inch is practically safe from hacks because it does not keep any reserves. It only acts as a router. 

• Chi Gas Token

The platform constantly evolves novel features to give users a premium experience. To further guarantee users of the best possible swap rates, 1Inch created a gas token. The Chi gas token helps reduce the cost of gas that a user pays when interacting with the other DEXes through 1Inch. When activated by a user, the Chi gas token can reduce gas fees by up to 40%. More about how to use the Chi gas token can be found here.

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Milestones and Partnerships

• 1Inch Router Version 4

As part of its continuous improvement program, 1inch upgraded its swap router to a more efficient Version 4 in November 2021. The new version ensures that gas costs on 1Inch are significantly lower than on other platforms and DEXes. Coupled with the intelligent routing algorithm, polished user interface, shortened response time, improved order fill mechanism with extra options, tweaks for maximum returns and lowest gas, etc., of previous versions, the newest version keeps 1Inch a step ahead of the competition.

• Bitquery Partnership

1Inch is always on the lookout for partnerships that add value to users’ experience. A strategic partnership with the blockchain data provider, Bitquery.io, was announced in March 2021. This collaboration will see 1Inch adding more cutting-edge trading tools to its DEX, such as real-time trading data feed from multiple DEXes and protocols. Traders can use the trading data to enhance their overall trading activities.

• Web3 and GameFi Initiative

1Inch has dived into the GameFi sector with the December 2021 launch of its PlayToEarn DeFi Racer game. The game’s development was funded through a 1Inch Foundation grant. 1Inch will integrate NFTs into future versions of DeFi Racer and will continue to explore more applications of Web3, Metaverse, etc. 

• $175 Million Fundraising

In December 2021, 1Inch organized a funding round that raked $175 million. More than 45 venture capitalists, including VanEck, Alameda Research, Celsius, Nexo, and Gemini Frontier Fund, contributed to the fund.

1Inch has its eyes firmly set on being the go-to choice for DeFi users. It will use the funds for protocol improvements and expansion, regulatory compliance, enhancing the utility of the $1INCH token, and scaling up the contributor team. 

• $3 Million Grant Program

The 1Inch Foundation set up a grant fund of $3 million in 1Inch tokens to support developers who build on 1Inch protocols. The grant program kicked off in July 2021 and will run till July 2022. The foundation issues the grants to initiatives that build under three categories: Network Development, Community Development, Research, and Analytics. Application for the grant can be made using this form. 

Apart from those mentioned above, other 1Inch features and utilities include Limit Order swaps, peer-to-peer (P2P) swaps, 1Inch Earn, 

How to use 1Inch DEX

1Inch does not require users to create an account; users only need to connect an address through any supported wallet. To connect a wallet, go to the website and, from the interface, select the wallet you want to use and click on the ‘connect’ button.

After a successful connection, there are two drop-down buttons that you will use to select the tokens you have and the one you want to swap to. There are also settings that a user can adjust to customize the parameters of the particular trade. All the settings are laid out on an easily navigable interface. Once satisfied with the chosen parameters, click on ‘swap,’ approve the transaction in your wallet, and the trade will be executed at the best rate in no time. Here is a basic guide on how to swap on 1Inch.

1Inch Tokenomics 

The platform token of the 1Inch Network is the $1INCH token. It is a utility token that also functions as a governance token. To acquire voting privileges, holders of $1INCH token must stake it to receive a proportional number of votes, while the platform’s liquidity providers take part in governance with their LP tokens.

The total supply of the $1INCH token is 1.5 billion, of which 30% is for incentivizing the platform’s community and 14.5% as a development fund, both of which will be gradually unlocked over four years, as can be seen in the distribution model. 

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Closing Thoughts

Slippage and high gas fees are two critical problems associated with sole decentralized exchanges. 1Inch Network solves these weaknesses by using multiple DEX’s liquidity and an optimized swap system to find the best swap routes. With its aggregated DEX protocol, innovative features, and recent expansion into numerous blockchain networks, 1Inch offers arguably the best user experience. And with a team that is focused on continuous improvement, we can look forward to more exciting future updates.

Where to find 1Inch:

‍Website | Twitter | Medium | Discord | Github | YouTube